Apple Says 2026 was a “Record-Breaking Year” for Its Services Business

Apple Says 2025 was a "Record-Breaking Year" for Its Services Business

Apple says its services business delivered a record-breaking year in 2025, with new highs across Apple Music, Apple TV, and several other products. The company framed the update as a broad win for engagement, expansion, and new features across its services lineup.

In a press release, Apple opened with comments from Eddy Cue, the company’s senior vice president of Services. Cue called 2025 “a record-breaking year for Apple services,” and pointed to Apple Music’s new all-time highs in listenership and subscribers. He also said Apple TV “eclipsed all prior viewership records in December 2025,” with total hours watched up 36 percent from the previous year.

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Eddy Cue’s message

Cue tied the results to what Apple calls stronger customer activity during the holiday season. He also highlighted the App Store’s scale and developer payouts, plus Apple Pay’s fraud and commerce claims.

Cue wrote, “The App Store alone saw over 850 million average weekly users globally, with developers earning over $550 billion on our platform since 2008.” He added that Apple Pay “eliminat[ed] well over $1 billion in fraud,” and generated “more than $100 billion in incremental merchant sales globally.”

Apple highlighted

Apple listed several metrics and milestones it says it reached in 2025:

  • App Store: Over 850 million average weekly users globally across 175 countries and regions
  • Developers: Over $550 billion earned since 2008 from digital goods and services sold on the App Store
  • App Store holiday stretch: A record number of visitors between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, with record spending on digital goods and services
  • Apple TV: 36% increase in total hours viewed in December 2025 compared to the previous year
  • Apple Music: Best year ever for listenership and new subscribers
  • Shazam: More than 1 billion recognitions per month
  • Apple Pay: Available in 89 markets, with Apple saying it eliminated well over $1 billion in fraud and generated more than $100 billion in incremental merchant sales
  • Tap to Pay on iPhone: Available in 50 markets
  • Find My and airlines: Share Item Location supported by 36 airlines, and Apple says airline integration reduced “truly lost” luggage by 90% based on SITA WorldTracer
  • Apple Arcade: Added 50+ new titles
  • Fitness+: Expanded to 28 additional countries and regions, with Japan planned “early this year”
  • Apple Podcasts: Set annual records for listeners, plays, and subscribers
  • Apple News: Apple says it ranks as the No. 1 news app in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, and No. 2 in the U.K.

App Store success and regulatory pressure

Apple used the release to underline App Store momentum and developer economics. It said the ecosystem facilitated $1.3 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2024, and that more than 90 percent of that commerce went directly to developers with no commission paid to Apple.

At the same time, Apple acknowledged ongoing antitrust and regulatory attention tied to App Store practices in regions including the EU, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil.

Cue closed by signaling more updates ahead, while tying the roadmap to privacy.

He wrote, “As we look ahead, we’ll continue to bring innovation and intelligent enhancements to Apple services, always guided by our commitment to privacy and a phenomenal customer experience.”

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